Irrigation technology utilization: A case of central Uganda

摘要

Products of irrigated agriculture are at low demand in many Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) countries yet forcing factors for national food self sufficiency are prevalent. This study aimed at understanding the causes for low irrigation adoption and to generate information for improved utilisation. Individual house hold surveys were conducted among 138 vegetable growing households and focus group discussions (FGD) were held with key informants in 4 sub counties in 2012. The results were updated in 2016 among32 farmers through information sharing meetings. The results indicated that most farmers (77.5%) still used watering cans for irrigating their crops of average 0.5 acres (±0.35). High cost ranked 1st among prohibiting factors to uptake of modern equipment. Lack of water in the uplands coupled with limited knowledge of water harvesting techniques (1% use) restricted commercial vegetable production to low and wetlands.